Commercial Importance and Future of the South [pp. 120-134]

128 COMMERCIAL IMPORTANCE AND FUTURE OF THE SOUTH.
substitute a Southern agency, composed chiefly of Southern
planters, who, by depositing with the agency in palyment for
shares, Conifederate bonds and notes, or other goodl securities,
wvill create a bona fi(le capital, which would have lhere, and in
Europe, greater resources ard a better credit than the N'orthern or European agents to be superseded by thoem, and who
being directly interested in protecting the value of their own
labor, will use their credit and capital thus createdl to prevent
its depreciation in the foreign markets. It will require no less
Southern banks and no less Southern merchants to carry on
the trade of the South than heretofore. So far firoom reducing
the 1iulhber or the profits of the Southern banks or Southern
nmerlchants, it is apparent that if,t; as I believe, the agencley will
aid in giving a direct trade with Europe, and by dlispensing
with Northern agents and Northern merchants, iIncrease the
value of Southern exports, it will increase in like p)roportion
the amount of Southern ilmports, increasing in that proportion
the consu,tption of foreign goods, vwhich being free from the
Northlern taxes heretofore levied in the shape of customn duties
and commercial profits, will not only increase tlhe n,unber, but
will proportionally increase the profits of Sontlhern eiiicl:iants.
The banks are the appropriate agents of the merchants, and a
system which increases the number and profits of the merchants will benefit the banks.
But- I return to the objection that the planter should be a
planter. Hle now employs,a filactor, through whom hlie tr'nsfers
his cro) to the Northeini or European agent, by wlhomi it is sold
in the North or in Europe. V'What I propose is, tlhat the planters slhtll, by association, create anr aogency to supersede the
Nortlierii or foreign (atgenits. I admiit that the vwlue aund efficieny of that agency will depend upon the p)eCrsons chosen to
managt'e it, and that these persons will be chosen by the planters. Bit if the planter is competent to select faetors qul-lified
to select the Northern and foreign agents, lteretofore p)alrt of the
machiery of Southerni trade, surely they will be conmpetent to
select proper persons for the nianagemenit of the (attlcy to be
or(tan,ized bv them as a substitute for the Northern tiid f()reigln
agelts heretofore selected by their filctors. The question thlen
is reduced to this: Are the planters of the South competent to
select proper persons to imana,e such an agency, and canl such
persons be selected in the Soutlh? That the planters clit aftford
to pay salaries sufficient to command the best taleiits, of tried
and uniimpeached integrity, cannot be questionel; and that
such persons can be had for sufficient compeinsttiol, is at))arent in the skill and enterprise which characteiize( the people of
the South, whether tested by the management of our banks,
our railways, our literary institutions, or in the cabinet, the
forum, the plantation or the field of battle. That we have
among us persons competent to execute the trust, a:nd( that the